How Many Times Can A Rabbit Get Pregnant In A Year

Rabbit breeds of medium to large size are sexually mature at 4 to 4.5 months, giant breeds at 6 to 9 months, and small breeds (such as the Polish Dwarf and Dutch) at 3.5 to 4 months of age. The release of eggs in female rabbits is triggered by sexual intercourse, not by a cycle of hormones as in humans. The rabbit has a cycle of mating receptivity; rabbits are receptive to mating about 14 of every 16 days. A doe is most receptive when the vagina is red and moist. Does that are not receptive have a whitish pink vaginal color with little or no moisture. A veterinarian may be able to feel fetuses in a pregnant doe’s abdomen 12 days after breeding. False pregnancy, during which the rabbit shows signs of pregnancy but is not actually pregnant, is common in rabbits.

A rabbits gestation period is 30 days roughly. They also have the ability to carry 2 litters at once although the babies aren’t as healthy or may necessarily survive. That means that TECHNICALLY a rabbit has the ability to give birth 24 times in a year. However less than half of the babies would survive in this case. The mother would also do well to survive in this case. If left to their own devices 2 rabbits could probably breed and successfully have a litter around 10 times a year. (Provided she doesn’t eat the babies from sheer exhaustion.) if you are planning to breed your rabbit I would do it maximum twice a year per doe. Pet rabbits aren’t as hardy as people think.21.1K viewsView upvotes

The gestation (pregnancy) period in rabbit ranges from 28-32 days (approximately 30 days). The nest box is to be kept within the cage to facilitate the doe for preparing bedding for the new born. The nest is to be provided at least 5-6 days before parturition. The nest box should contain nesting materials like straw, grass, wood savings etc. Saw dust should not be used as bedding material. A doe may pullout some of her own hairs to make nest for litters. Adequate measures should be taken concerning feeding and management during pregnancy period. Quantity of feed should be increased for 10 to 15 days of pregnancy. Plenty of fresh water should be provided. Environmental stresses should be avoided as far as possible.

Breeding Schedule Of A Rabbit

When setting up a breeding system for your rabbitry, your first consideration should be your purpose for raising rabbits. If you’re raising rabbits for meat, you may want to produce as many fryers as possible. If you’re mostly interested in showing rabbits, you may want to have only a few litters each year and time them to provide stock of the proper age for showing.

Rabbit breeding schedules are usually based on 7-day intervals for ease in recordkeeping. Many commercial rabbit producers will breed does back 14 to 21 days after kindling. A 35-day breed-back schedule is recommended. You can shorten the interval between kindling and breeding as you gain experience. However, intensive breeding programs may increase the number of does culled (put down) annually due to “burn out”.

How Many Times Can A Rabbit Get Pregnant In A Year

If a female rabbit is never separated from a male rabbit, the female rabbit can have 11 or 12 litters of bunnies every year with no rest in between litters. This is because the gestation period for a rabbit is only about 30 days, and they can breed again nearly immediately after birth. It is better to mate the doe when her young (litter) are 4 weeks old so that they are 8 weeks old when the next litter is born. In this way one doe can produce 6 litters a year. Two weeks after mating you can feel the young through the side of the doe’s belly. Traditionally people keep all their rabbits together.

When Can Rabbits Mate?

Female rabbits (Does) can become pregnant when they are 12 weeks old and can continue to have babies up to the age of four years. Male rabbits (Bucks) can mate until they are seven years old. Unlike most animals, rabbits can conceive at any time of year and for this reason, if you own unneutered bucks and does, you may want to keep them separate to avoid unwanted pregnancy or consider neutering your rabbits.

How Often Do Rabbits Breed?

A female rabbit is one of a handful of animals that do not need to be in ‘heat’ to be fertile; instead, they are Induced Ovulators.  Induced ovulation is the process where coitus (e.g. some form of genital stimulation) causes a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) which causes the female to become fertile. Induced Ovulators are somewhat rare, and include not only rabbits, but cats, ferrets, and camels. We’ve all heard the old wives’ tale that a woman will not get pregnant while she’s nursing. I don’t think that’s actually true for humans, and I know it’s not true for rabbits.

Rabbits can get pregnant while still nursing their most recent litter of bunnies, sometimes immediately after giving birth. Still, even with the physical ability to be fertile at any time, it is not the best strategy to keep your does pregnant year around. It takes a lot of energy to nurse baby bunnies, and those babies won’t be ready to wean until they are 3 to 6 weeks old (though many breeders prefer 6 to 8 weeks before weaning). While a doe can be impregnated while still nursing babies, it’s not a good idea. 

If a doe is spending energy on both nursing an existing litter and growing her next litter, it’s not a crazy thought that both litters will suffer from malnutrition and neither litter will achieve their full potential. Most rabbit wranglers will let a litter nurse for 6 to 8 weeks before weaning.  Then they’ll allow their doe to rest and recuperate for 2 to 4 weeks before breeding again. This means 12 to 16 weeks between the birth of the first litter to the birth of the second for most does.  

Rabbit Pregnancy Symptoms

There are a few ways you can tell if your rabbit is pregnant:

  • Nest building – female rabbits instinctively build a nest using hay or straw when they are pregnant
  • Fur pulling – soon-to-be mothers pull their own fur out to use as a blanket to keep the babies warm
  • Aggressive behaviour – your rabbit may growl defensively, or refuse to be petted or stroked

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